My Enemy, My Sister, My Friend
by redsoxchamp07
Summary: A/U Will never met any two people more polar opposite from each other than the Magnus sisters.  Underneath their icy outward relationship, he senses they might actually care for one another.  Otherwise he doubted the Sanctuary would still be standing.
1. Chapter 1

**My Enemy, My Sister, My Friend**

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to the fantastic creators, producers of Sanctuary. I'm just borrowing them.

Chapter One

_Sanctuary For All._ Her words ran circles around his head, playing repeatedly like a broken record. Could it be possible that her words might apply to him? Perhaps she could save him from a world that held little appreciation for his abilities and his theories. Maybe he could seek sanctuary from his reality with her.

Nonsense. He was a fool to put any stock into this. Even in the distant longings of daydreams. This woman was nothing more than some whack job that hit him with her car and then confronted him in a complete downpour about embracing the full spectrum of reality or something or other. Well, he embraced reality all right. Ever stupid, miserable moment of it.

If anyone needed a reality check, it was her. The entire scene screamed sketchy to him. And, as a profiler and trained observer, he would do well to listen to that logic. Yet, there was something about this woman that was drawing him in.

He would be a fool to pretend she wasn't undeniably attractive. He was human and a man, after all. But there was something else about her, calling for him to take a leap of faith and trust her. Otherwise he wouldn't be staring at her business card seriously considering calling her. Maybe it was the aura of mystery surrounding her that he found fascinating. Maybe it was seeing Meg again and being reminded that he no longer had anything going for him. Or maybe something completely different.

Whatever the case, before long he found himself dialing Dr. Helen Magnus' number. She promised to open up the world to him. He could at least see what type of world use had to offer.

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He differed quite from what she expected. But different was a good thing or at least she hoped it would be in this case. More than ever she needed it to be. Her only fear was her timing. While she planned on offering him a chance to be a part of her world, she also meant was she said earlier. This wasn't how she hoped they would meet. She watched and waited from afar for him to be ready. For him to be in the necessary state of mind for him to embrace what she had to offer, but what if she was too early or even too late? What if he were to deny her request?

She wasn't too keen on admitting he took her by surprise earlier this evening. It wasn't often anyone caught her off guard, but Dr. Will Zimmerman had. When she emerged from her car to see whom she mistakenly hit in her pursuit of the boy, she hadn't expected it to be him. Yet she couldn't help but be pleased with her luck that it was. While she hadn't planned it, hadn't the opportunity to weigh out if this were truly the best time, he had appeared to her at the time she needed him the most. If she were not a woman of science, she might have called it a sign.

Dear Lizbeth was leaving or so she claimed. And despite not believing this to be true, for it was hardly the first time her sister made sure a claim, Helen could not deny Lizbeth seemed more determined than ever before. And while Helen truly believed she, Ashley, and Henry could handle things without her, they weren't exactly doing a decent job of it tonight. After all, she ran over young Will and they still had yet to capture the boy. It was becoming apparently obvious the team might be in need of someone else.

So, knowing it would be futile to try and dissuade him now that they met, she decided it best to take a chance on Dr. Zimmerman now rather than wait. And she was surprisingly impressed with how things were progressing thus far. He embodied the same skepticism the others had, possibly more so, but her simple words about abnormals deserving the same respect humans and animals received without question seemed to be sinking in far more quickly than any preceding protégés she had before. While his words spoke out in protest and confusion, his expressions showed the contrary. He believed her words or was starting to at least. Which meant he was well on his way to being an important member of the Sanctuary Network.

Her phone interrupted them, alerting her that Ashley found the boy both she and Dr. Zimmerman were searching for. Perfect. Perhaps with his help they would manage if Lizbeth truly chose to leave. Then again… maybe with his help, they could convince her to stay.

"We found our boy." His eyes widened as if he hadn't truly believed she would be able to find him. "Now, would you be so kind as to deliver that message to someone while I change into more appropriate attire? We can depart after we've both finished."

"Ah…sure." She smiled at his apprehension. Clearly he was concerned about what creatures he might encounter while trying to navigate his way about this vast place.

"Good. This way."

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She barely recognized her room anymore. The walls and shelves stripped bare, contents of her closet and drawers emptied out onto the bed. The last time her room had been this empty was when she moved here from London all those years ago. Following Helen blindly as she so often found herself doing in the past. Something she vowed never to do again.

She never chose this life. It had been forced upon her. First by her father and then by Helen. She was the muscle behind their science. But it was time to take her life in her own hands. All she needed to do was finish packing the clothes sprawled across her bed and she would finally be on her way.

A knocking at her door drew her away from her suitcase. Groaning, she fought the urge to punch a wall. "Come in," she growled. She was growing weary of Helen's attempts to keep her from leaving the Sanctuary. Only she was surprised to see that it was not Helen who emerged from the other side of the door, but a boy. Well, not a boy per say under normal circumstances, but a young man probably in his thirties was very much child in comparison to her.

"Uh…sorry to barge in." He hesitated in the doorway until she gestured him in further. Something struck her as odd when she scrutinized him up and down. There was a strange familiarity about him bringing up the image of a small boy with curly bold hair. Of Course!

"You must be my replacement." She knew Helen followed that young boy as he grew up in the hopes of making him her protégé.

"I usually just go by Will, but replacement works too."

She stared at him for a moment before her laughter filled the uncomfortable silence of the room. "Good. You have a sense of humor. We need that around here to counteract Helen's uberseriousness."

"Yea. I got that impression. I'm Dr. Will Zimmerman by the way."

"Dr. Lizbeth Magnus, but I prefer Liz. Doc or Magnus are reserved for Helen," she instructed shaking his extended hand.

His eyes widened. "So you're Dr. Magnus'…"

"Sister. Yes."

He looked deep in thought for a long moment, reminding her of herself when contemplating a particular patient's case. He must have noticed her staring because he quickly explained, "Sorry. It's just your name sounds so familiar…" A light bulb in his head went off and she could see his features light up at the realization. "A Lizbeth Magnus founded the Behavioral Analysis Unit at the FBI. That was you, wasn't it?"

"I've founded a number of things, but yes. I am most notably known for that." Uncomfortable with the turn of conversation, she turned away to resume her packing. Over her years she left a substantial imprint upon history, but in her short stint with the FBI she foolishly used her real name. And because of that, she'd been forced to end the most enjoyable years she experienced since World War II far too early.

"But if that's true, then you should be dead!"

She whipped around to face him, ready to berate him for continuing to bring up the rather painful memory of having to fake her death to protect hers and Helen's secret. But as she opened her mouth to rip him to pieces, she took in the wonder and awe cascading across his boyish features and her anger slowly faded. Instead she inhaled a deep breath, sighing as she released it. "Stick around here long enough and you'll learn the dead don't always stay dead."

He didn't understand. Not that she expected him to. She and Helen looked completely ordinary on the outside, even though that was hardly the case on the inside. Even the most deductive minds would find difficultly uncovering the truth. And she was getting the troublesome feeling that he had one of those minds.

He chuckled at seemingly nothing, lost in his own thought, and oblivious to the revelations her own mind was beginning to uncover. "God, I can't even begin to believe that I'm standing in front of the woman who wrote my textbook!"

Pushing aside her frustrations for a moment and ignoring his sudden star struck attitude, she couldn't help but let out a laugh of her own. "You have got to be joking! They still use that piece of crap?"

He joined in her laughter and she could tell he was growing more comfortable. Probably because the two of them had more in common than he realized. So much for Helen accepting that she was leaving. This was just another one of her attempts to convince her to stay. "You're a profiler, aren't you?"

He nodded uncertainly, not sure why she all of a sudden went from laughter to solemnness.

"God, I should have known," she exclaimed, annoyance beginning to rake her voice once more. "So Helen sent you up here to convince me to stay. That's what all the fanfare is about."

He looked take aback and his discomfort resurfaced. "No! Well, I mean she did send me up here, but it was to tell you she found the boy."

Now, she really wanted to punch something. Today was not her day. Of course, he didn't know that Helen intended her to bond with a fellow psychologist. Someone who would admire her and she could mentor. He had only just met Helen and would have no way of knowing how devious the woman could be at times. "Sorry. Helen and I don't always see eye to eye. She's been trying to convince me not to move all week. I mistakenly assumed…"

"Oh there you two are. Are we ready to be on our way?" Helen interrupted, poking here head in the room.

"Uh…yea." Will answered looking awkwardly back and forth between sisters.

"Let's get this over with," Liz grumbled, pushing past the two, but making sure to whisper, "We'll talk about this later," as she passed her sister.

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Ashley loved her mother dearly. Truly she did. But if Aunt Liz was true to her word in leaving, Ashley was going to lose her sanity! She spent all night tracking this little punk through the most discussing tunnel system that reeked of sewage and God knows what else. It would take weeks to wash the stench off. And the first thing her mother did was chastise her for roughing up a couple of police officers who were going to get themselves killed.

"Relax, Helen. There have been plenty of cases when we've needed to rough up a few people in order to save them. Better for them to have a splitting headache than no head at all," her Aunt Liz joked coming to her rescue. Liz was the buffer between Ashley and her mother, which is what Ashley would miss the most when her aunt left.

Her mother opened her mouth to argue and Ashley braced herself for World War III - well more like world ware a gazillion where her mother and aunt were concerned - but the weird geeky tagalong in the glasses interrupted, directing their attention to movement in a corner of the tunnel. All three women drew their guns in an instant, startling the newbie. But much to Ashley's disappointment, he shrugged it off, stalking ever so slowly closer to what was hopefully the boy.

Only the new guy clearly didn't have much game in the abnormal department because Ashley just managed to tackle him to the ground before the boy's appendage could put a hole in his skull. Not that it did her much good, because the next thing she knew the appendage was taking a bite out of her shoulder.

As much as she hated to admit it, the geek must have gained some courage because he was on his feet providing a distraction long enough for her aunt to help her to her feet and her mother to fire a tranquilizer into the boy. Though her appreciation for him faded when her mother instantly took to lecturing her about how all this could have been avoided.

"It was Ashley's first solo mission," Liz interjected much to Ashley's relief. It had been a long night and she was working hard to try and prove she could handle things on her own. While the last thing she wanted was for Aunt Liz to leave, she knew this was important to her aunt.

"And it was chaotic at best!"

"She'll get better as time goes on. Besides overall, she performed far better than I did my first time out."

"Really?" Ashley interrupted. It was hard to imagine a time when her aunt didn't excel at this. Liz was fast and strong and could execute a bag and capture practically flawlessly. Something Ashley greatly aspired to someday do.

"Oh yes. You should have seen how furious my father was. Your mother's anger pales in comparison."

"Enough of this! We are getting off point," her mother argued.

"Because the point is mute, Helen. You hardly fared any better than Ashley, running over poor Will and all."

"Which is exactly why we need you!" Helen cried and everything fell silent. Ashley feared how far her mother's voice might have traveled, especially with the police nearby, but she didn't dare move to glance around. Never before had she seen her mother like this. After all, the two hardly ever got along and Aunt Liz had left plenty of times before, but Ashley thought she understood. When Liz would leave before it was on official CIA business, for which she often did work for, and she would never be gone for more than a few weeks or months at a time. This was the first time Aunt Liz planned to move out permanently. And despite the arguments, Ashley knew her mother didn't want to be without her sister.

Braving a glance over to her aunt, Ashley could see sorrow in her eyes, before they hardened over once more. "I told you, Helen. I'm done."

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The last person she wanted to see was Helen. Certainly not after their most recent argument in the tunnels under Old City. But she knew Helen planned to have Will try and talk to the boy and she couldn't deny she was curious. Slipping quietly into the observation level, she saw Helen watching the scene bellow her carefully, obviously trying to determine if she'd been correct in her choosing of Will.

"Shouldn't you be packing?" Helen asked, a slight bitterness still laced in her voice.

While it would be so easy to retort back, she took a deep breath wanting to leave on good terms. Moving to stand next to her, looking down upon will, she decided upon a peace offering. "How is he doing?"

Helen glanced over at her curiously, confused but opting to let what happened in the tunnel go. "I was hoping you could tell me. This is, after all, your area of expertise."

She stood there dumbfounded. Did Helen Magnus seriously just ask for her opinion? Even if this was her expertise, the times Helen looked to _her_ for advice were few and far between. Deciding not to pass up the opportunity, she looked down to where Will, ducking behind a wooden chair, was attempting to calm the boy down in between dogging attacks from the boy's appendage. She turned a raised eyebrow towards Helen, fighting the urge to exclaim _Really?_ Helen heard her just the same though, tossing a stern glance over that said to give it some time.

Rolling her eyes, she turned back to observe Will jumping between the boy and The Big Guy, trying to defer the tense situation. She couldn't help the chuckle that escaped at Biggie's face when Will said he feared him more than the boy. Biggie was spoiled being around her, Helen, Ash, and Henry. He'd grown accustom to being widely accepted. Sheepishly sparing a quick glance over at Helen, Liz noticed that she too housed a light grin on her face.

Shaking it off she concentrated solely on Will's psychological analysis of the boy and his abnormality. "He sounds so textbook," she finally observed, noting his rattling off information that sounded oddly like things she wrote throughout the years.

"And here I was going to say he reminds me of you," Helen smiled.

"Me?"

"Yes. Back at Oxford when you first began forming your theories. Spouting out random observations you noted while sitting at dinner or in the library. Half the time I couldn't determine if you were talking to me or yourself."

"Hey! I was in the process of creating an entirely new branch of science not making a differential diagnosis," Liz defended in the midst of laughter. Soon Helen joined in and it was almost as if they were back at Oxford. Young, vibrant sisters giggling at a corner table of the library diagnosing passersby with various medical or psychological conditions.

But the moment ended as quickly as it came. Each freezing upon realizing what was occurring between them. After an awkward pause of staring anywhere but the other, they both turned back to observing Will. All sisterly bonding fading into the woodwork as if nothing ever happened.

But something obviously did because when Liz finally returned to the scene bellow, she barely recognized the young forensic psychologist. He seemed to be a completely different Will. Still young and new to his abilities, but she no longer doubted he housed the potential to be great. In minutes he'd grown from the textbook diagnosis rattled off in fear to seeing the scared child hidden underneath the outer abnormalities. Perhaps she had been wrong about him and Helen right. If she had to be replaced by anyone, maybe Will wouldn't be so bad.

"Magnificent," Helen breathed, an air of impression surrounding her, which was hard to come by.

"I must agree," she finally confessed, bracing for the confident I-told-you-so expression Helen so often housed when she doubted her. Only it never came.

Her silence in and of itself spoke volumes though. Knowing Will would work out and now having her sister's stamp of approval, Helen was content. No longer was she begging her to stay. And as much as Liz wanted that, she never imagined that _she_, who played a vital role in the Sanctuary long before Helen knew of abnormals, could be so easily replaced.

With Helen lost in her own world of admiring Will, she opted to duck out quietly. After all, there was still a little left to pack. So little that she could be on her way late tonight or early morning. And with no destination or plans, the world was hers to explore at all hours of the day. But that also meant it was time to start saying her goodbyes.

She decided she would start with Ashley, who seemed to be the most supportive of her decision. Whether the sentiments were true or an act, she was unsure, but she valued her niece's support either way. Overall, Ashley seemed like a fair start. The Big Guy would most likely give her a hug and a slap on the head to wish her well. Henry…her dear, sweet Henry would need to be last. Their mother-son relationship would bring about far too many tears to do before anyone else. And Helen would no doubt, barely offer a wave out of spite and defiance of her leaving. Yes, Ashley would be a good staring point.

That is until she all but ran head first into poor Henry, who'd been too busy with his tablet to notice anyone else. "Whoa! Sorry, Mom," he cried, just managing to wiggle out of the way of a collision.

"Careful there, Henry. You wouldn't want to crash into Helen when she's carrying abnormal plasma."

His face scrunched up at the thought and she found herself laughing out loud for the second time this evening. Only this time there was no awkwardness. No fractured memories of time long since passed. For the moment it was just her and Henry laughing in the hallway. No broken history. Simply the bright wonder that always glistened in his eyes, whether he was aware of it or not.

Goodness knows she will miss him greatly. Watching him and Ash grow had been a bright flame in and otherwise dreary world of living in the shadows of her big sister, never truly fitting in with society. But now was not the time to dwell on that. This was the very reason Henry needed to be the last. "Do you know where Ashley is, Henry?" She asked him sobering up.

Regretfully, she watched his sweet smile fade away. He glanced around as if looking for a way out. "Uh…not sure. She mentioned something about Facebooking."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously and he shifted uncomfortably under her scrutinizing gaze. "Henry," she probed.

He squeezed his lips together sharply, trying his hardest to hold his own and not betray Ash, but after a moment or so he cracked. "Okay! Okay! She's out buying us some new toys from Silvio. Doc grounded her, but she went out anyway and she made me promise not to tell anyone and…"

"All right, Henry! I get the picture," she interrupted before he could give himself a heart attack. "Let's start at the beginning? Why is Ashley supposed to be grounded?" she asked. Ash could handle her own and it wasn't often that Helen put restrictions on her. "The EM shield's been having some fluctuations, which I told the Doc is no big. Most likely due to the central network still fluxing like a bitch. And yet, she' still ignoring the requests I made for updates…which, by the way, you promised…"

"I will talk to her about them, Henry," she promised yet again. And knowing Henry will not let this one go, she decides she better get that over with now.

"Oh and she also kinda freaked out when I mentioned some working girl was stabbed at a warehouse downtown. Do you know what's up with that? Made me send her all the information and video feeds." She froze at _working girl_ and _stabbed_, barely registering anything else Henry said.

"Mom?" he questioned at her silence, growing unnerved at both women's reactions to a simple murder not even involving abnormals.

"I'll talk to her, Henry," she said doing a 180 and heading in the direction of Helen's office. This new information added with the spikes in the EM Shield made it apparently obvious why Helen wanted Ashley to stay in this evening. And it also became apparently obvious that she would not be leaving any time soon.

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She must have replayed the video footage Henry sent her a hundred times before her door opened, startling her. Quickly closing out the email, Helen noted the lack of knock, meaning it could only be one person. Her sister. "I think I have seen you more since your decision to leave than I ever did in the entire time you were a permanent fixture here," she commented with a bright smile, attempting to cover up her fear.

"Very funny," Lizbeth sighed, plopping down in a chair like deadweight.

"I am just surprised to see you are still here. I figured you would be well on your way to wherever your destination is."

"Henry mentioned the EM Shield was fluctuating a bit and I…" Lizbeth hesitated a few moments and Helen could tell her sister was trying to determine how to best phrase her concern without getting too sentimental. "I just thought I would stay and make sure everything's normal. Wouldn't want Ashley's first day as Head of Sanctuary Security to be problematic. We want to boost her confidence not destroy it."

Inwardly smiling, Helen sighed. So she'd gone with insuring Ashley didn't run into trouble as her cover. Clever and almost believable if the undertone of her voice had not spoken otherwise. Lizbeth was, despite all their arguments and all their flaws as sisters, worried about her. The EM Shield existed to protect the Sanctuary for one sole purpose. A purpose only the two of them were aware of. John.

While her fear that John's return was great, Helen was surprisingly moved by her sister's concern. Lizbeth showed her still ever-present concern for her frequently and, even though she often pretended to ignore it, she appreciated it beyond words. The only problem was Lizbeth showed she cared through actions. Rarely ever words, making it easy for Helen to overlook it. "I am sure _Ashley_ appreciates it."

"She can call if she needs anything. You know, if a particular mission might be too much for the two of you alone, she can always phone me wherever I am. _Always._ I hope she knows that."

"She does" Helen answered, knowing they no longer spoke about Ashley, but about each other. She smiled happily having come to the realization that Lizbeth was not leaving. The fact that she came to observe Will's session and the fact that her sister was here in her office instead of heading off on her great adventure all indicated to Helen that Lizbeth was having a difficult time parting ways with the Sanctuary. Whether Lizbeth realized it yet of not, she was almost certainly not going anywhere.

Accepting that she thankfully would not be without her sister's support, she turned her computer monitor towards Lizbeth so she could see the frozen image of a man from the murder scene.

"So he really is back? After all this time?"

"It appears so." She watched her sister's face harden over at the confirmation. Trying to calm Lizbeth down, Helen offered, "I was think of spending some time up on the North Tower. Care to join?" She instantly regretted the offer the moment it came out. They did not spend time together often without fighting or glaring and she hated to ruin what was probably the first decent conversation between them in years and what may well be the last for a long while.

Luckily, Lizbeth shook her head no, "Not this time," she said, standing up and heading towards the door.

"Where are you going?" She couldn't help but call out. While she felt fairly confident Lizbeth would choose to stay, she still never knew when it came to her sister.

Lizbeth turned around and Helen couldn't believe she somehow missed her sister pulling out a gun from the back of her pants. Lizbeth flashed her a wicked smile as she locked and loaded her sig. "Hunting."

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He found her up in what the Big Guy called the North Tower, standing on top of a pillar, watching over the world bellow. He made a stupid crack about not jumping and having her whole life ahead of her, but barely earned himself a small chuckle for his efforts. Surprisingly, however, she asked him to join her. He glanced down, gulping at how far a fall it would be. He and heights tended not to mix well. But he could sense it was rare for her to ask anyone to join her and he knew when a pretty girl asks you to accompany her on a rooftop, you certainly don't say no. Though he was smart enough to keep that quip to himself.

Gripping what might have once been a flagpole, he pulled himself up onto the pillar beside her, embarrassingly maintaining a light grip on the pole for balance. The view was incredible. The bright lights of the buildings of New City danced reflections across the sea of black water separating it from Old City. She came here to reflect and he could see why. The endless ocean of stars above would be enough to keep him here for hours on a clear night. It seemed everything about her was extraordinary. Her world. Her work. Everything. He found all of it fascinating. Yet, she still called him out on being skeptical and she was right. But how could he not be?

All of this, while right in front of him, was unreal. The things from fantasy tales and nightmares. Never before had this been his reality. Believing what he saw. Believing in this world she opened up to him defied _his_ world and the life _he_ built. And even if his practical, ignorant world of psychology happened to be completely inaccurate, it was still hard to turn his back on after so long. Liz had built her world around the knowledge of abnormals, learning and understanding how to apply psychological theory to them. He hadn't and he wasn't confident that he could manage that.

When she mentioned his mother, he froze. How could she know that when he was eight he told the world a monster killed her? What scared him more was her admission that it was true. What he thought he'd seen all those years ago, what he spent a lifetime trying to prove was a childhood misperception of what he really saw, was actually real. A monster had killed his mother and she was asking him to help her protect creatures like that. And that's when it all seemed to click in his head. She knew. Knew that the possibility of having this world that he believed so deeply real when he was eight opened up to him would be practically irresistible.

"It's your choice, Will. In the end it's a massive leap of faith."

"A leap of faith you took?" he asked, remembering her mentioning that she was him once and curious to know just how much.

"Yes. One I most definitely took."

Her voice showed confidence. A confidence he didn't have. He wasn't confident in completely jumping off the ledge into the unknown with her, but he wasn't confident in walking away either.

Her decision to let abnormals into her life hardly surprised him. Helen embodied confidence and belief in this world and the unknown. What he was more interested in was the skeptic. The one who opened herself to this world, but still questioned it. "And Liz?"

Helen sighed. "With Lizbeth, this world was more forced upon her than chose. Not by me, but by our father," she explained with a tinge of regret. "This _is_ entirely your decision, Will. Do I hope that you agree to stay? Yes. But I will not think less of you if you do not."

He nodded appreciatively, opting to change the topic. He didn't want her to think he was belittling her work. And he doubted she invited him up to debate its worth and defend against accusations of using his past against him. "Did Liz leave?"

"Not yet. I believe she is staying one last night."

"Do you think she is sincere about it?"

"Hard to say. Lizbeth tends to take life day by day."

"Not a bad way to live. Any idea where she might be?" He could tell he intruded upon what would ordinarily be Magnus' quiet time. Something he suspected she didn't get much of. And he must admit he was quite interested in discussing some psychological principles with the woman who inspired him to join the field.

Surprisingly, Helen smiled at that and he thought it might be the first genuine smile he'd seen from her. "Most likely sulking somewhere. I managed to talk her out of something I know she was anxious to do on her last evening in town. So she is no doubt quite upset with me at the moment."

All Will could do was laugh and shake his head because for some reason it was in that moment he realized he would need understand these sisters.

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She was not pouting. Not at all. Okay…._perhaps_ she was a little bit, but she would never admit it. Not that anyone could blame her. John betrayed them all. He murdered seven women, possibly more and managed to escape punishment for his crimes. But above all, the main reason and the only real important one as to why her hart red for him ran so deep, he did not just break her sisters heart. He destroyed it in the wickedest of ways.

Oh how she desperately desired to put a bullet in his heart. If only Helen were not so naive and forgiving. She had every intention of scouring the city all through the night until she found him and destroyed him as he destroyed her sister, but Helen wouldn't have it. And despite their disgruntled relationship, she would never harm John without Helen's blessing. No matter how tempting it was. Though that didn't mean she had to like it.

The heavy clicking of high heels alerted her that Helen was nearby long before the door slammed open with a loud bang that shot Liz right off of the couch. A panicked Helen flew through the door practically running to her computer, followed by Ashley. Both of whom were shouting at and over each other, reminding Liz why Helen's office was not the best location for a depression nap.

Confusion as to why Helen and Ashley were tearing one another apart in a manner more typical of Liz and Helen did not last long. A bright flash of red that Liz caught out of the corner of her eye answered everything and had her drawing her gun in seconds. John was here. In the Sanctuary. Something she thought impossible. And it was all her fault. She played a vital role in the security of the Sanctuary. But more recently, her focus leaned more towards planning to leave than to keeping up her duties. She'd been selfish and now her sister would pay the price.

Regretfully sparing a glance over in Helen's direction, she saw the fear and anguish written plainly across her face and she could see her sister struggling to keep her gun level with her shaky hand. It broke her heart and fueled her fire, her rage at John like gasoline on and open flame. She would _end_ him.

The many years since she last saw him changed little about him. Just the same as her and Helen. He stood as tall and strong as ever. With that menacing look that always kept her trust in him at arms length. Even when he was once a dear friend to her.

As she was just beginning to formulate the foundations of the study of the mind, she could never quite give a logical reasoning for her distrust of John back then. At the time he was one of her best friends of whom she held in the highest regard. Even her gut feeling that John was bad news didn't disway their friendship. In fact, she found him a fascinating case study, bringing them closer as friends and cementing a deeper betrayal when he shattered Helen's innocent heart and became a serial killer.

Taking into account the daggers her eyes bore into his and if his memory served him the fact that she could kill him without blinking an eye, he appeared to decide to ignore her for a moment and focus on Helen. Her vulnerability when it came to him would be much easier to deal with from his point of view.

Ashley's eyes widened at John's comment to Helen on how lovely to see her again it was. And when her mother refused to answer her questions, she turned to her aunt. Glancing from her sister to her niece and back, trying to determine if she was allowed to answer, she opted instead to train her gun that much harder on John. Her finger resting lightly on the trigger, anxious to pull it. "Enough of this, John," she ordered, warning him that she would no longer wait for Helen's approval to shoot. No longer was it a matter of going out and hunting a man she detested. Now it was a matter of protecting her family. Helen, Ashley and her son Henry who was somewhere downstairs. Helen no longer got a say.

Not that John was even listening to her with Helen in the room. No, the deranged psychopath went on to answer Ashley's question, telling her how the three of them went way back. If only she knew.

And that became the last straw. He could ignore her, he could berate Helen, but he could _not_ talk to Ashley. Pulling her finger back to motion to kill, a flash of red forced her to release before she could fire. John disappeared and reappeared, grabbing Ashley as a shield. Damn it! Smart move. No longer did she have a shot. Only Helen, who would be less likely to take the risk.

Tears welled up in Helen's eyes and by the sound of her voice she could tell they weren't far from streaming down her face. And her sister's heart was melting with each word of John's carefully chosen story about wandering lost and alone just looking for a place to call home. Helen wouldn't take the shot. She always had a weak spot for people and creatures like John. And his plan proved brilliant, allowing him to make his demands and disappear with Ashley.

"Ashley!" she cried in shock, as Helen moved her fingers violently across her keyboard desperate to catch him on a security camera, her tears freely flowing now. This was low. Even for John. He knew who Ashley was. Harming her proved him to be more psychologically damaged than she originally diagnosed.

He appeared as quickly as he disappeared no longer accompanied by his human shield. She raised her gun once more. When Helen's demands were only met with a quip, _I'd tell you she was safe, but I'd be lying, _she gave one final warning. "Answer her John because I swear I want nothing more than to destroy you."

He let of out a manic chuckle at that. "You always were a real peach, dear Liz. Weren't you? A woman after my own heart."

"Helen?" she questioned, having heard enough of his psychotic ranting. None of this was helping Ash.

"Any means necessary," she nodded after a moment of silent debate.

He held a finger up in protest before she got a chance to act on Helen's words. "Ah, you may want to rethink that, Helen. Need I remind you, if she kills me, you don't find you precious Ashley. And the clock is _tick-ing_."

_Clever Boy_ she would have said if this were another place and another time, where she enjoyed occasionallymocking her dear friend. But Oxford was a long time ago. So instead she found herself throwing out profanities she acquired from this century's more devolved form of English. "Damn it, John! What have you don't with Ashley?"

"My…my, how soiled your language has become. Reveling in this less civilized world, are we?"

"John," Helen warned, voice dripping with indescribable pain. She was on the verge of allowing her sister to take the shot. Liz was stronger and faster than any human and Ashley could hold her own for a good while. Killing John once and for all might be worth it if he continued to waste time playing games.

"All right. Your scruffy little helper mentioned something about where the worst of the worst are kept."

Scruffy little helper? Oh no! Henry! "What did you do to him?"

"Ah, so he's yours Liz? _Interesting._ Wonder what our old boy Nikola would think?" She froze, struggling to maintain a decent grip on her gun at the mention of Nikola. Despite herself and their current situation, she couldn't help but wonder what would he think. Not that it mattered. Henry was adopted and the only man she needed in her life. After the stunt he pulled last time they saw each other, she'd probably put a bullet in Nikola's heart too. Not that it would have any affect other than perhaps making her point known. But none of this was important now and she cursed Nikola for still holding such an influence over her. Henry and Ashley were in trouble. That needed to be her focus.

John's face housed obvious satisfaction that he'd struck the proper nerve playing the Nikola card. Enough so that he granted her request as to what happened to Henry. "Not to worry. He may have a bit of a headache, but nothing more."

Relief flooded through her for a brief moment that her son was safe, but it did not last long. She still had her niece to worry about. Now that she knew her location, she could get to her quickly enough. Not as quick as John, but faster than Helen. All she needed was him to be distracted, for he would never allow her to leave otherwise.

Glancing over at Helen, she saw her sister thinking along similar lines. "Go," she mouthed silently, before holding her gun strong and screaming at John, gaining his full attention. For a moment she hesitated, concerned about leaving Helen alone with John, but in the end she slipped out of the room and took off towards the Shu. Helen would never forgive her or herself if any harm came to Ashley.

{}{}{}

Light. The creature seemed to hate the light. The Big Guy was down. Ashley was bleeding out from a claw scraping across her throat. Both injured by this creature. And it was afraid of the light?

The door to his right opened and in ran Liz, eyes sweeping around taking everything in. "God," she breathed when her gaze fell to Ashley. She motioned as if to help her up, but a growl to their side halted their efforts.

In what Will would describe as less than a second, Liz engaged the creature in a physical entanglement. For a moment, Will stood mesmerized. She felt a few strong blows, knocking the creature back a bit, all while managing to doge its claws. "Will," she called out breathlessly. Obviously the fight didn't come as effortlessly as she made it appear. "It hates the light," she called, ducking just in time to avoid her and Ashley having matching injuries.

Shaking his thoughts off, he brought himself back to the present. "I know. I'm working on it," he hollered back, glancing around trying to find something he could use.

A loud scream pierced the air and Will whipped around just in time to see the creature's claw digging into Liz's side, tossing her like a rag doll against the wall. Crap. He was screwed. No way could he take on this creature. Liz might possibly be the most intimidating force he ever came across in all his years in law enforcement and even she had little success.

Nervously spinning around, desperately searching for something, anything that could help him defend himself and keep the others from suffering more severe brutality, his gaze stumbled across a pipe that looked loose. Dashing over to it, he pulled hard a few times till it finally came free, sending him flying backwards a little. Wasting no time, he stabbed the creature, pushing it further away so he could gain enough access to the light source above. Smashing the shade over the light, a glow surrounded the area, sending the creature scurrying back into its habitat of darkness.

Picking up Ashley, deciding to shuttle the closest out first, the doors opened and Magnus and Henry came bursting through. He instructed them to stay in the light. He then passed Ashley off to Magnus, as Henry grabbed The Big Guy, freeing him to retrieve Liz.

The claw marks dug into her side looked deeper than Ashley's and under ordinary circumstances he wouldn't want to move her until a doctor told him it was okay, but her lower half was still encased in darkness and she was loosing a lot of blood. Gripping her under her shoulders in order to keep her as still as possible, he dragged her to the door where Magnus helped him lift her onto a medical bed.

"Dude, are you nuts?" Henry asked him. Will laughed at that. Thinking back on what he'd just done, that was shaping up to be a likely possibility.

He went out to by flowers for The Big Guy and opted to go with chocolate for Liz. Flowers didn't really seem appropriate for an ass kicking monster catcher. Thankfully Ashley caught him in the hallway, informing him of Biggie's pollen allergy and her aunt's hatred of chocolate. Shaking his head, he offered her the chocolate, which she eagerly accepted.

Ashley made a speedy recovery. Her wounds apparently looked far worse than they truly were. The creature just broke the skin, she explained. Unfortunately, her aunt hadn't faired so well.

When he entered the infirmary, he found her to be asleep so he went over to sit with The Big Guy for a while. He had a lot to think about. This place. This Sanctuary and all these two woman managed to build here amazed him, but he feared it might prove too much for him to handle.

The Big Guy gave him even more to dwell about when he corrected Will's notion that perhaps there was no such thing as a monster. If the Big Guy believed in monsters, maybe this life would be too much for Will,

He was about to leave to go see Magnus when she stopped him. "I take it you're leaving?" He was surprised to hear a slight disappointment in her voice.

"I take it you're not," he countered skillfully trying to avoid the subject.

"Not for a while or so Helen keeps reminding me," she laughed. "I'm not all that upset about it. Although, Helen's positively gleeful undertone every time she mentions it is getting old."

He couldn't put his finger on why, but he found it oddly fitting and amusing that her biggest concern over this whole ordeal was that her sister continued to take some guilty pleasure that Liz was housebound for quite a bit of time.

"Look… I realize I should probably be ranting to you about getting out while you still can…" she started but got interrupted by a disapproving grunt from the other end of the infirmary. "Hush," she hollered at the Big Guy amused. "Where was I? Oh yes. Talking about how you should run and never look back… Oh quiet down over there. I'm just getting to the good part."

Will laughed despite himself at the two squabbling like children, before focusing on what Liz was saying once more. "But, disregarding the fact that Helen is rather odd and difficult to get along with - OKAY, yes. You've made you're point Biggie! - She is good at this and so are you."

"I don't know about that," he blushed, trying to pass of her compliment as if it didn't mean the world to him that she thought so.

"Yes, you are. I have studied psychology for a long time, Will and worked to apply it to abnormals here at the Sanctuary. I know when someone is good at this."

He stood there grateful for her opinion and shocked at her confidence in him. Her point was clear. She wanted him to stay. Thought he would fit in well here, just as Magnus did. And if the woman who'd been solidified in the idea of getting the hell away from this place thought he should stay, perhaps he should consider it.

"I suppose I owe you a thank you for saving my life."

"Don't mention it," he told her. After all, if she hadn't showed up when she did, their positions would be reversed.

"My sister is used to getting her own way," she said after a long while of silence. "She could use someone like you to ground her every once in awhile. I get the impression you don't compromise. And she needs that."

{}{}{}

She saw his shadow in her doorway out of the corner of her eye. She'd been expecting him, though she rather hoped he wouldn't show up. She thought for sure his visiting Lizbeth and her dear friend might stir up some sentimental feelings over the ordeal the three shared the other night. Apparently not enough to convince him to stay. So it seemed the final battle belonged to her.

To her surprise, he didn't outright say goodbye. Instead asking her to hear him out. Only much to her dismay, his memory of the evening his mother died was far more clear than she hoped. He remembered her being there. She didn't flinch when he accused her of not saving her. He had every right to sort this period of his life out now that he knew the true nature of her death. In the end, Helen knew he would see she and Lizbeth did everything they could. And if he stuck around for a while he would learn they often failed to catch wind of a 'monster attack' until it was too late. That night, they'd been lucky enough to save Will.

His mind was sharper than she realized, when he picked up on the fact that logically she could not have been older than her early teens at the time. If she wasn't so distract that he was bordering along the truth, she might have laughed at the idea of being a teenage monster hunter. No that had been Lizbeth. Much to her surprise. She and their father always got along much better than he and Lizbeth. And yet, she didn't learn of abnormals until much later on. Not until Oxford.

John's arrival did nothing to help. His name was legend, after all. She saw no alternative, but to be completely honest with him. "I am one hundred and fifty seven years old."

She watched mildly amused as he leaned his head back against the chair taking everything in. "And Liz?"

"Lizbeth is one hundred and fifty two, but I'd avoid mentioning it. She got rather sensitive after she reached the hundred and fifty threshold," she joked, hoping to defer him away from uncovering anything else.

But her plan failed and he had her recalling the story of John's final murder. And without her having to say anything of the sort, his intuitive mind made the link to Ashley and that John was more than just her former patient.

And, while she hadn't a clue as to what it was, something she said must have worked. The final battle was won when he asked her to promise to open everything about the Sanctuary to him. No locked doors and no secrets. Complete and total honesty. And seeing as she just confessed to him the darkest skeleton in her closet, she decided to agree. He already started to shape up to more than just a protégé, so she vowed to treat him as more than such. "Shall we begin?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"So you're telling me you actually founded the science of psychology?" He asked, still in disbelief. "All on your own?"

They'd sat here bantering over psychological theory for hours. He making himself comfortable on a neighboring infirmary bed and she still glued to her own under Magnus' watchful eye. They discussed everything from Darwin to more modern day applications. He asked question after question. Everything he could possibly think of. Drilling her on all the theories that confounded him throughout his career. Yet he still couldn't believe they all belonged to her.

"Not all of it. I certainly didn't venture off to the Galapagos Islands and study the evolution of finches. But, yes, most of the theories still used today are mine."

"What about Wundt? Freud? James?" He questioned, just to name a few. Surely everything he learned. Everything he spent his lifetime thus far studying couldn't all be a lie. She couldn't possibly tell him otherwise.

"All aliases. I grew up in the nineteenth century, Will. I couldn't possibly take credit for my theories. They would never have been taken seriously coming from a woman. Though, regretfully, dear Freud did get the reputation of being a bit of a wackjob."

Off to the side, Magnus let out a small chuckle at that, as she switched out Liz's IV. "You had that coming. After all, you added far too many sexual innuendos into your research papers when posing as him."

"Hardly my fault!" Liz objected, laughing. "When I started forming personality theory, it was spring of 1886 and I was spending it in Vienna. And… well… you know," she trailed off, winking at Magnus.

Will cocked his head at her curiously. While she seemed lighthearted and amused, he could see something bothered her about the turn of conversation. Even Magnus, who smiled at her sister's quip, seemed to sober up and avoid continuing to push that memory any further.

Despite his curiosity, he followed Magnus' example and instead returned to focusing on his disbelief that the woman lying on the infirmary bed next to him was responsible for, not just writing his textbook, but for ninety percent of its content.

"What about…"

"Oh dear Lord!" she exclaimed, exasperated, turning her head towards Magnus. "Helen, if this is punishment, I am sorry for whatever I did to deserve it," she laughed and Will found himself joining in.

The three spent a great deal of time together since Will first learned of the Sanctuary. Magnus refused to leave, saying Liz would never stay put without a supervisor. Will volunteered to play mediator between the two sisters, with Ashley, Henry, and The Big Guy popping in on occasion, usually baring food and tales of the world outside the infirmary.

He didn't mind spending most of his time with the two of them, though. He actually enjoyed it. Magnus and Liz were fascinating and the history they lived through even more so. Yet he did have to admit, he'd been hard pressing Liz on various aspects of psychology for some time now.

"Not to worry. Will, Ashley, and I are off to Scotland, so we both shall be out of your hair for a short while."

"Scotland?" He asked. That was the first he heard of any plans besides sitting with Liz till her head spun off in annoyance. Magnus' words not his.

"Yes. Ashley just brought news from Silvio that we might find something of interest there."

"Silvio? Oh come on, Helen. You're not seriously taking Intel for that fool, are you?" Liz interjected.

"Ignore her," Magnus instructed. "Think you're ready for your first mission?

"Hell yea!" he said, hopping of the bed anxiously. His excitement level rose at the prospect of seen what occurred on these missions he heard so much about. Whenever Ashley would drop by the infirmary for a visit, she and Liz would tell these grandiose tales of missions past, while Helen chuckled in the corner doing research on her computer. He thought it would be interesting to see how much of their stories were true and how much was exaggeration.

"Don't act so happy to leave. Some of us are stuck here."

"Ah, yes!" Magnus exclaimed, eyes lighting up as she remembered something. "That reminds me. Just because we are away does not mean you have permission to leave this bed."

"Helen, I'm fine!" Liz argued. Will could tell she was going stir crazy trapped in the infirmary. Liz did not seem like the type of person to just sit still. No matter how injured she was.

"Nonsense. You're lucky your organs weren't spilling out on the floor with that cut. SO the others will be around to check on you."

Will felt his breakfast worming its way up a little. The image of Liz bleeding out on the ground was gruesome enough. Did Magnus really need to add organs spilling out from it? Though, he supposed, she did offer up a fair point.

Liz's eyes widened as she pleaded, "Please tell me Two-Face is not on the rotation."

Magnus smile gave away just how much she was enjoying this. "I left our old friend in charge of that, so I guess it will depend on how you behave."

Liz groaned, head falling back to her pillow. Will now understood why Magnus insisted on checking and rechecking that the infirmary was clear of any weapons every day. He wouldn't put it past Liz to try and fight her way out, simply from boredom.

{}{}{}

The plane ride seemed to be passing far too slow and far too quiet for her taste. Considering she spent the better part of two weeks in the constant company of Will, she thought for sure they would be chatting away. But, instead, he appeared lost in his own thoughts, staring out the window at the clouds racing by. No doubt psyching himself up for his first mission as a member of the Sanctuary.

Ashley proved just as antisocial, sitting a few rows up, bopping her head to the music blasting from her IPod. Which left Helen with no one to converse with.

It felt strange to be up in the air, heading to break into an ancient crypt, without Lizbeth to banter or argue with. After all, as a spy, breaking into places was Lizbeth's specialty. And, while she would deny it even under duress, she somewhat missed having her sister with her.

The past few weeks, being cooped up together, left feeling a bit nostalgic for those times long ago, when they were young and untainted by the hardships of life. Just two small children chasing one another about the house. Liz trying to teach her to climb trees like she and the boys next door would, and she falling flat on her butt when she attempted to do so herself.

Lizbeth was always the adventurous one. Always getting down and dirty with the boys in the neighborhood, pushing the boundaries of society and a woman's place in it.

Helen fought along side her sister, but in, what she believed to be, a more civilized manor. She was the elder sister and felt a certain sense of duty to chastise her sister's childish behavior after their mother died.

Ironically enough, their mother tended to encourage Lizbeth's behavior. Even allowing her to wear pants when in the house and away from prying eyes. Her mother and Lizbeth were as close as she to her father. She had been Lizbeth's number one supporter till Nikola came along. Nikola who, not only loved Lizbeth, but thrived on the aversion to society.

_Enough living in the past!_ She chastised herself. All that happened too long ago to dwell on now.

To distract herself from distant memories, she opted to selfishly draw Will out of his private thoughts too. "Will?"

Her voice appeared to startle him evidence of how deep his thoughts dove. "Yeah?"

"Sorry to disturb you," she apologized. And truly she was. Just because she needed a distraction from her rambunctious mind didn't mean he did as well. But she continued nevertheless. "I just thought I should warn you that Lizbeth did have a point. Silvio's Intel can often contain discrepancies. We could find a completely different situation when we land than we're anticipating."

"Ah, so I might get the full Magnus family mission experience after all," he joked and she found herself sharing in his laugher.

She admired his youth and optimism. Envied it really. He embodied all the characteristics she wanted. The characteristics she once had, only to loose with the weight of time.

She resisted the urge to massage her temples in mental exhaustion. Will's perceptiveness would pick up on it in an instant. "Not quite. It is far more interesting when Lizbeth accompanies us," she chuckled, hoping to disguise the fatigue in her voice.

Ever since John's brief appearance, if you could call it that, she found herself reflecting on history. Overwhelmed with memories of times past.

Briefly she wondered if Lizbeth might be going through something similar when she mistakenly joked about Vienna. But she knew it must simply have been a coincidence. Lizbeth never dwelled on the past. She ran from it.

Will hardly seemed to notice her distracted nature in their conversation. Or, if he did, he respectfully kept his observations to himself. "I can imagine. After all, look what happened a few weeks ago. An exceptionally dangerous abnormal takes out both Ashley and The Big Guy, and what does Liz do? Runs straight towards it! All I remember thinking is that she must be insane."

"There are times I think she very well might be."

She couldn't help but smile at Will's use of the more politically correct term: abnormal. Only a few weeks ago he thought them monsters. He already surpassed any expectations she had. Never before had a protégée embraced the full nature of her work…_their work_… so quickly. She was in uncharted waters with Will and she looked forward to exploring the future with him.

{}{}{}

Silence. She tried straining her ears to pick up some sort of sound, wondering whose bright idea it was to seclude the infirmary from most of the Sanctuary. She knew The Big Guy or Henry would be lurking nearby to insure she followed Helen's strict orders, but the quiet atmosphere seemed to stretch on for miles. Normally peace in the Sanctuary was a good thing, but right about now the muted air was too much for her liking.

For the past few weeks, she had Helen and Will blabbering away in her ear constantly, and she found the silence more unnerving than relieving. Silence always gave her too much time to think. And after the past few weeks, she would rather just forget.

Nikola Tesla. From the moment John mentioned his name everything came flooding back. Sixty years past and just as she managed to glue all the pieces back together, good old Jonny had to come and shatter them once more. And now, she was making stupid offhand comments about Vienna.

Spring of 1886 in Vienna produced some of her fondest memories. Ultimately soiled by Nikola's betray. Often she wondered what might have happened, where they might have ended up, if he hadn't been so foolish as to invent a weapon that had every government agency hunting him down.

But that was her Nikola. Foolish, arrogant, and selfish to the core. James warned her. Nigel warned her. Even John warned her. Jack the Blood Ripper warned her Nikola was a heartbreak waiting to happen! Yet she still didn't listen. And nearly a century later she learned all three had been right.

The only person who truly supported them from the start was Helen. Dear, sweet, innocent, Victorian England Helen, who saw the good in everyone back then. _They are so perfect together. Can you not see what a better person Nikola is with her? They bring out the best in each other. _Helen would always tell the others. Eventually James and Nigel came around. John was already so far gone his opinion no longer mattered. Not that it ever really had to being with. But in the end, they had been right. And it damn near broke her.

_Enough of this!_ It would do her little good to walk down that path again. Nikola was gone, dead, or doing something stupid.

The silence was killing her. She would give anything to have Will and Helen back here, even if she'd been two seconds from kicking them out. Especially Helen, though she would never admit it out loud.

She needed to get out of here. If she were actually admitting missing Helen – even if it was in her own mind – she was close to losing it. And what reason did she have to be afraid of Henry and Biggie? She was a spy for God sakes! Sneaking about unseen was what she did best.

Slowly easing herself into a sitting position, she took great care to avoid stretching the large bandage on her side. If the stiches broke even slightly, Helen would know she'd broken loose from the infirmary.

Tiptoeing towards the door, rolling her IV quietly beside her, the pole accidently caught the leg of a nearby bed, crashing with a loud clink. She froze in place for nearly five minutes, straining to hear any sign Henry or The Big Guy heard the commotion.

When no one came bursting in, she quickly finished her trek to the door, peaking her head out to check the hallway. She signed in relief that there seemed to be no sign of anyone in the area. If she could just make it to her room, at least she would get a change of scenery.

Sneaking off the elevator onto the residential level, she gave a quick glance around before continuing. Three more hallways. Two more hallways. One…

"What do you think you're doing?"

Damn. Henry. She should have known they would be patrolling near her room. God she hated when Helen was two steps ahead of her.

"Henry. Darling. This isn't what it looks like."  
>"Really?" Henry laughed and she had to admit it did sound stupid. "Cause it sure looks like you're not in the infirmary, Mom."<p>

"Okay. I'll give you that," she signed. There was no getting out of this innocently. Helen was going to kill her. "But I promise my plan was simply to lie down."

"Doc made it clear you aren't ready to be out of bed. Especially when she's not here."

"Henry…" she started, but she knew he would never budge. She may be his mother, but when Helen made a medical call that was that.

But there was one thing that might provide her some leverage. "About those upgrades you've been bugging Helen about…"

"Oh no," he objected. "I'm not falling for that again."

"Henry, at this point my room is a lot shorter a walk than returning to the infirmary," she pointed out to him. Even if it was exactly what she wanted, he couldn't deny that it was true. "So, why don't we head there and you can watch me like a hawk until Helen returns to berate me," she offered up.

He would take the offer. After all, she wasn't even attempting to cover up her disobedience from Helen. A small price to pay for a change of scenery and a break from the silence that brought about memories of her haunted past.

{}{}{}

"Are you completely insane? Do you like setting back your recovery by weeks? Or are you just so obsessed with our ridiculous feud that you can't even follow my advice when it comes to your personal health?" Magnus spat at her. She'd been going off like this since arriving back from Scotland to discover his mom managed to slip out of the infirmary.

"Don't you have three stolen souvenirs from Scotland that need your attention?" she muttered, taking Magnus' dressing down rather well in comparison to previous smack downs they'd had.

"They're suffering from a bout of amnesia and Will's handling it," she informed, ignoring her little jibe other than the twinge of annoyance laced in her voice. "_You_ are my priority."

"Wow. That's a first." And with that any hope he had that the civilized portion of the argument might continue went out the window. Thought it might just have been a record for the longest they'd gone without the gloves coming off.

"Dear lord, you just never stop. Do you? Ever since Nik…" Magnus started, sparing an uncomfortable glance over towards him and peaking his interest. Magnus rarely second guessed her words. "Ever since he left you've been incorrigible. You would think after nearly sixty years you might have moved…"

"Oh get down from your high and mighty pedestal, Magnus. "John carved up eight whores and still believed you could have a life with him." she interrupted the Doc's tirade. "Besides, we stopped being sisters long before World War II."

He knew he should step in. Break up the fight before they said anything else they might regret. Or worse not regret. But never before had he heard them so open and honest about their past. And he had to admit he was more than a little curious. He and Ashley always wondered but never dared ask.

"You were going to search for him. Weren't you?" Magnus stated more than asked, temporarily overlooking the comment regarding her own ex-lover. "That's why you wanted to leave. Why you are so furious that you're cooped up in here and you plans deferred.

"Helen. Don't," she pleaded firmly. As if warning the Doc she was headed down a dangerous path.

Never before had he seen his mother shrink under the intensity of the Doc's interrogation. Normally she challenged it. Normally she was the one in control and Magnus on the defensive.

"Don't try and skirt around the subject. You were about to abandon this Sanctuary and your family, leaving us vulnerable to John. And for what? _Him?_"

His eyes widened at the anger behind Magnus' lashing out. He knew, despite the act, that deep down his mom was important to the Doc. Only time and the hardships of life masked that love, allowing even the two of them to forget it ever existed. But this reaction by the Doc showed just how significant a betrayal his mother's plan to leave had been.

"I… I thought I saw him," his mom whispered, the tough spy fleeing under the hardness of her older sister's glare. "And I know what you're going to say. And ordinarily I would agree that my mind was simply playing tricks. Showing me what I wanted to see. But it wasn't just one time, Helen!"

"Oh bloody hell, Lizbeth! He _left_ you! He turned his back on you without even having the audacity to say it was over to you face. When are you going to see that?"

"Get out."

That seemed to sober the Doc up and her mask fell instantly. A softness came over her and her shoulders sank ever so slightly in regret. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she slipped her hand into her sister's, who seemed completely frozen, staring lifelessly at the wall. "Lizbeth, I didn't mean…"

"I said get out!" His mother screamed and a silence, in what seemed to be the entire Sanctuary, fell instantly.

Nodding softly with a sigh, Magnus quickly removed her hand, sliding off the bed. Sparing one last glance back, she found Lizbeth still staring at the wall. With another heavy sigh, she slipped out the door, leaving mother and son alone.

After a few moments of quiet, Henry threw his hands up with a smile. "Okay, what the hell was that?" He attempted to joke.

"Henry," his mother warned, not even cracking a tiny grin. All right something in that conversation with the Doc must have really shaken her. She wasn't even trying to pretend everything was okay like she always did. Instead she just shrank down further in her bed, resting her head on the pillow to stare at the ceiling.

"Who was he?" He pushed, knowing he would never get another opportunity like this. Another window into his mother's long buried past. He would likely never see this vulnerable side of her ever again. At least not in his lifetime.

A long moment of nothing followed his question and he feared he more than overstepped that invisible line. "Nikola," she finally admitted, still finding the ceiling particularly interesting. "His name was Nikola Tesla."

His eyes practically bugged out of their sockets. "Whoa! You mean like _the_ Nikola Tesla?"

He sat on the edge of his seat in amazement. His mother knew one of the greatest inventors in history! Oh what was he thinking? Of course she did! She was over a hundred and fifty years old. She and Magnus knew everyone.

"I met him when Helen and I were studying at Oxford," she explained to him simply, immune to his obvious excitement.

"And?" He probed, anxious to hear more. She was never this forthcoming. And who knows. Had things gone differently, this might have been his father. Maybe he would have had siblings.

"And nothing, Henry," she exclaimed, hardening over once more. "He's not here and you never met him, so obviously there is nothing to tell. I knew Nikola Tesla. He was a brilliant scientist. And that's that."

He nodded, bottling up his enthusiasm. He'd pushed as far as he could get away with. "That's okay. I have to get back to the lab anyway," he shrugged. "Love you. Get some rest," he added, offering her a quick kiss on the cheek. "And I wouldn't totally shut the Doc out. She's just worries about you."

{}{}{}

He found her in the main lab, head down in her work. Something he reckoned she did often when she needed to take her mind off more personal problems.

"I hear you and Liz had a fight," he said not bothering to beat around the bush. She needed someone who wasn't afraid to be straight up with her. Someone she could trust to do exactly that.

"News travels fast," she muttered, sounding hardly surprised to find he already knew.

"More like you two aren't exactly quiet when having a…_disagreement_," he joked.

"That's a fair point," se conceded.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He offered, even though he knew she'd shoot him down. They had to start somewhere.

"Shouldn't you be taking care of Danu?" she cut him off curtly, as he suspected she would.

"She's resting and don't you sound like the more Americanized Magnus sister," he pointed out. After all, it was exactly the type of response Liz would make to deflect a conversation.

To his surprise, her head shot up to stare at him in shock. "What did you just call us?"

"Look, Magnus. I was only kidding. You still command the Queen's English of old Britalia better than anyone I know," he corrected, backtracking at her odd reaction.

"I didn't mean…that wasn't… why don't you tell me how our guest is doing," she changed the subject, giving up on trying to explain herself.

Still his interest rose and he made a mental note to file this moment away for future reference. Something he'd said had shaken her and he was beginning to suspect it wasn't his reference to her grammar.

But now wasn't the time. He had three patients to care for. So he told Magnus about the plague Danu described. And, as if she couldn't get anymore weird, she seemed inclined to believe that Danu's memory of a plague that hadn't infected anyone since 800 A.D. might be more accurate than he thought. All because of some fluid she found soaking the bottom of their coffins. He was beginning to think more and more that she might be crazy right along with these women.

Though she did make one rather interesting point. If these woman were as normal as he claimed them to be, why kidnap them? Why lock them away? Why use dangerous creatures to guard them? There was nothing normal about that.

{}{}{}

She couldn't go back in there. There had to be another way. She wouldn't go back in there.

Only she had to. Who better to know things about a secret organization than a sometimes, occasional CIA agent.

Resting her hand lightly on the doorknob, she took a deep breath, bracing herself for the hell she would no doubt receive. Entering before she lost the courage, she noticed Lizbeth's surprise to see her here. Especially so soon after everything they said to one another.

Lizbeth motioned so say something, but before she could, Helen blurted out, "Do you know anything about a group known as Cabalas Nocturnum?"

Lizbeth shot up into a seated position fast. Too fast considering her wounds were still in the beginning stages of healing. A tiny shriek escaped her lips and Helen lunged forward, easing her sister back against her propped up pillow. "Careful. Take nice slow breaths," she advised, claiming a seat on the edge of the bed once more. She took hold of her sister's hand as she had earlier. This time with little resistance.

"Those women, are they the property of The Cabal?" Lizbeth asked when her breathing evened out and the pain begun to subside.

"So you have heard of them."

"Enough to know they're bad news. You do not want to make an enemy of The Cabal, Helen."

As if her warning bells weren't already blaring, that set them off even more. There were few people in the world that Lizbeth didn't feel she could take on. Probably because there were few people in the world Lizbeth _couldn't_ take on.

"I ran into a few less than pleasant Cabal members on a mission in Bolivia. They belong to some cult dating back to ancient times, who capture abnormals for their own possession and personal use."

"That is completely barbaric," Helen exclaimed, totally disgusted. This was exactly the reason the Sanctuary existed in the first place. To protect these innocent creatures from the small minded arrogance of humans.

"You don't have to tell me that," Lizbeth agreed, the outrage in her voice evident. A lot of things could be said about her sister, but when it came down to it, Lizbeth believed in the purpose and need of the Sanctuary as much as she did.

"Why have you never mentioned them before?" Despite her sister's more independent nature and their less than civil relationship, it was unlike Lizbeth to keep these things to herself or try and tackle security measures of this magnitude on her own.

"Because, while I don't know much, I do know they aren't the usual scum we deal with. Or, regretfully, they type of scum we are equipped to deal with," Lizbeth explained. So far Helen wasn't really seeing a reason not to mention it. Only more reasons she _should _have.

"The ones I ran into were heavily equipped with all the latest tactical gear. State of the art armor, automatic weapons, and some other toys I'd love to get my hands on. Someone was funding and supplying them better than most militaries. I thought it best we stay under their radar."

_Ah._ There was the reason. Lizbeth was worried she would do something stupid and draw attention to the Sanctuary Network. A fresh batch of abnormals just ripe for the picking. "I hardly think I would really be foolish enough to…"

"To steal three potential abnormals from a heavily guarded Cabal crypt in Scotland?" Lizbeth interrupted with a smile. "You forget how well I know you, Helen."

"Okay, so maybe I would be foolish enough to do something like that," she laughed, surprised at how easily they' returned to joking after their earlier outbursts. Perhaps spending over two weeks trapped in the infirmary together had done some good, after all.

"They're going to come for them, Helen," Lizbeth told her, a solemn mood falling over the room. Lightheartedness never seemed to last long in the Sanctuary these days.

"I know," she nodded, trying to remain calm. Only problem was, with Lizbeth out of commission and Ashley off with Squid, the Sanctuary was in a very vulnerable position.

Before either could say anything further, a heavy rumbling could be heard in the distance.

"What…" Lizbeth started to exclaim, glancing about.

"On Earth?" she finished for her sister.

Then suddenly they both turned to each other having come to the same conclusion. "The witches!" they both cried.

Lizbeth started to wiggle out of bed, but Helen rested a hand on her shoulder to stop her. Grabbing her sister's laptop of the nightstand and tapping into the security cameras in the main lab, her eyes widened at the sight. Placing the laptop on Lizbeth's lap so she could observe what was happening, she ordered, "Stay here."

With a nod from her sister, she hurried off to the door. "You'll need to stop in Henry's lab to…" Lizbeth started to advice.

"I know," Helen assured her before hurrying off to do exactly that.

{}{}{}

The sound of glass shattering altered her to the intruders long before they appeared on the security cameras. Damn it! For years she managed to keep the Sanctuary out of the Cabal's hands and Helen managed to screw it up in one mission.

She needed to get out of here. She needed to get herself a gun and a walkie-talkie. And this time she knew Helen would approve. If she didn't, she wouldn't have pulled up the security cameras to watch.

With a sharp tug, she pulled the IV out of her arm. Helen would complain about it later, but dragging that damn pole along would only slow her down that much more. Stumbling over to the desk as best she could, she pulled a gun from her drawer, her walkie out of the charger and flipped to the emergency channel.

"Grab what weapons you can and meet us in the catacombs," she heard Helen say to Ashley. The Catacombs? God Helen was going to be the death of her! If she let those women free, The Cabal would make the Sanctuary its number one target. The mess she would have to clean up from this when she got back on her feet would be enormous.

The struggle to make her way down there was even worse than she'd anticipated. Crashing into the wall every few feet. On the positive side, Helen must have drawn the creatures down already, as the only ones she'd run into were the bodies she tripped over.

Finally she had Will, Helen, and Ash in her sights, oblivious to the one surviving creature approaching them. Firing several shots, he collapsed in a heap on the ground. The three spun around quickly, relieved to find it was only her.

"Nice of you to show up," Helen joked.

"You're welcome," she laughed in response.

"Did you see Henry on your way down?"

That nearly stopped her heart. And she felt a nervous anger rising. "Are you telling me The Cabal are here and you don't know where Henry is?"

"I'm here," they heard him call out, turning to see him being lead in by an armed escort.

They raised their weapons instantly at the Cabal security team surrounding them. She stepped in front of Will who was unarmed, insuring to keep him inside the circle she, Helen, and Ash were forming with their backs. She didn't need to be worrying about him too with Henry already in trouble.

Before they could make another move, other than Helen's stubborn insistence she didn't know what women they were talking about, The Morgana came forward on their own. Turning themselves over to The Cabal, despite Will's protests, the security team agreed to leave without further trouble. Merely offering a warning that the people they work for weren't the forgiving type.

And she thought that perhaps they might have lucked out this time. That the Morgana might be so valuable that The Cabal might overlook this as a means for their return.

Well, she thought that right up until Helen opened her mouth, saying to tell his bosses this was far from over.

"You do realize what you've done?"

"Now is not the time to worry about that."

"Right. I forgot. Worrying about being a target of one of the most powerful organizations in the abnormal business is hardly a priority." God the woman just didn't get it. Did she?

"Don't you think you're being a tad dramatic?"

"Helen, you've may have just started a war we might not be capable of winning."


End file.
